Is ‘Laws of the Jungle‘ really telling the truth? The
program has been under heavy scrutiny since actress Park Bo
Young‘s agency head complained about the ‘reality’ of the show. The show then
released an official statement stating the the show’s goal was to show
places that hadn’t been touched by urbanized human hands before.
The show depicted various moments where the cast were in danger, or they were
having an incredibly hard time traversing through dangerous terrain. It always
emphasized to viewers that every situation was 100% real.
However, a little research showed that most of the show was false. In the
Vanuatu series, the cast and crew went to Mount Yasur, the Millennium Cave, and
the Blue Hole. The show emphasized multiple times that no human had been there
before, and that the crew was making their own way through. Kim Byung
Man led the rest of his team through a makeshift road he ‘made’
himself, and told them to be careful of the falling rocks from above.
However, netizens found proof that Mount Yasur was actually a tourist
location where even children and the elderly can stroll up in less than 30
minutes. To confirm the accusations, media outlet Dispatch
called a tourism company in Vanuatu, who confirmed that there was indeed a tour
package, and said the location was completely safe, saying, “Tour guides
will tell you when it’s safe to go. No one has been hurt. If there are falling
rocks, you will have to wait. Four wheel drive vehicles can go up to the Mount
Yasur volcano and then you will have tour guides who will carry the camera for
you at the top. The cars belong to the tour guide“.
The show repeatedly emphasized that various places hadn’t been visited before
by other humans, that this was the first time anyone was walking along the
wilderness, and that every step was difficult and dangerous. Most of the places
turned out to be 30 minute tourism courses that had been visited an uncountable
number of times before.
‘Laws of the Jungle’ emphasized multiple times how the crew went to film in
an environment that hadn’t been damaged by human hands and hadn’t been tainted
by urbanization. The cast has visited Siberia, Vanuatu, Amazon, Nambia, Papua
New Guinea, and New Zealand so far. However, it takes simple research to find
out that nearly everything they found were tour packages. Even meeting the
native tribes is included in part of a tour.
Merely typing in the most recent ‘Waorani Tribe’ of the Amazon shows an
immense number of hits for tourist packages, Facebook accounts managed by the
tribe along with photos and videos of the experience. Some of the tour packages
almost an exact match with the steps that the program took.
In the end, everything could be bought with money. Various tourist companies
that Dispatch contacted confirmed that even various traditional
ceremonies could be faked by the tribes. On the Amazon experience, one tourist
company said, “We have to contact the Waorani Tribe on how much for them to
act it out. If you pay 600 USD per person, up to 16 people can attend. If you
are interested, we will connect you with the Waorani Tribe.” Other tourist
companies confirmed that they had Vanuatu and Siberia tour packages that had
almost the same exact itinerary as the show.
There were other proof that much of the show was staged. For example,
Mir ate a piece of a monkey’s head during a traditional wedding
ceremony for a tribal member named ‘Pedro’ in the most recent episode. However,
‘Pedro’ turned out to be a 23 year old tour guide who was already married with a
son.
The same happened in Vanuatu, where one of the tribe members stated to the
camera that it was the first time that an outsider had visited their village.
However, previous photos showed the exact tribe member posing with various other
tourists in the village, and it turned out to be merely a part of the tourism
package.
What do you think about the entire situation?
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